Civil Engineering

In October, a fence went up on the Case campus between the Bingham Building and the Veale parking garage. In just over a month, construction processes were completed and an operational wind turbine now stands on the site, supplying power to the Veale Center and supplying research opportunities to the Case School of Engineering, making Case the first university with a wind turbine dedicated to research.

The 156-foot tall turbine was funded by the state government as well as several manufacturers around the state and is the first of a series of three turbines to be installed in the Cleveland area. The following turbines will be larger and the next is slated for completion in June, situated along I-90 in Euclid. (full article)

Prof. Dario Gasparini, in conjunction with David A. Simmons of the Ohio Historical Society, has presented historical evidence showing Alfred L. Rives to be designer of the Cabin John Bridge. The research shows that Rives was in charge of both design and construction of this Civil War-era bridge just outside of Washington DC. Also known as the Union Arch Bridge, it is still the nation’s longest single-span masonry bridge. (Read more) (ASCE Publication)

Currently, Prof. Gasparini is preparing to receive the Moose Brook Bridge from Gorham, New Hampshire, as part of a research project sponsored by the Historic American Engineering Record of the National Park Service. The objectives of the research are to study the effects of humidity, temperature, and wood viscosity on the temporal loss of prestress and to improve rehabilitation technologies.

After a busy spring semester that included the grand opening of the state-of-the-art Richard ’39 and Opal Vanderhoof Infrastructure Research and Education Facility, the Civil Engineering Department continued to move forward, hiring three new full-time professors. To accommodate the growing size of the department, three positions were advertised and filled over the summer. Dr. Michael Pollino and Dr. Banu Sizirici Yildiz joined the department as assistant professors and Dr. Brian Metrovich was brought on as an associate professor.

With focuses in Structures and in Earthquake Engineering, Dr. Pollino comes to Case Western Reserve from Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., where he served as a Senior Structural Engineer. In his first semester here, he will be teaching Structural Analysis I.

On April 26, 2010, The Civil Engineering Department celebrated the grand opening of the new 2,400-square-foot Richard ‘39 and Opal Vanderhoof Infrastructure Research and Education Facility. It is a state-of-the-art testing resource available for academia, industry and government agencies for research, design, and educational activities.

The heart of the Vanderhoof Facility is the William H. Schutte ‘33 Structural Laboratory. The laboratory has a strong floor and a three-story, L-shaped Frank E Gerace ‘48 Strong Wall to enable forces to be applied concurrently in three orthogonal directions. It also features a high-capacity hydraulic pump and servo-hydraulic actuators for applying controlled static or cyclic forces or displacements.

The laboratory may be used to determine the static strength, ductility, damping, and fatigue performance of structural components for alternative energy technologies, signage, pipeline systems, and other applications. Both seismic and wind loads can be simulated. Read more